Reforms needed: AER chairman

CONSUMERS need to be able to get involved in the electricity market to help cut their power bills, the Australian Energy Regulator recommended on Friday.

AER chairman Andrew Reeves told a Senate committee inquiry into electricity prices that reforms were needed to give consumers a better deal on their power bills.

He said while reforms had focussed on the wholesale market and the creation of a national grid network, new changes were now needed to give consumers greater control over the energy services they bought.

"A well-resourced, national independent consumer advocacy body would ensure that consumers' views can be represented effectively and that the impacts upon consumers are properly considered," Mr Reeves said.

"By providing reliable information to consumers and making retailers act appropriately, consumers will be able to compare 'apples with apples' when considering retailers' offers."